Winter Butterfly
by Kirabana
Summary: Ruki x Ichi x Ori. Set in the Edo period of Japan. A story between an Oiran nicknamed Shirayuki and a youjinbou/ bodyguard named Ichigo.


_Hello and welcome to my very first story. No one will probably remember this but I was an active member here in during 2007 but stopped writing after a while. I recently remembered this place and came back and thought I want a fresh start. I deleted all my previous stories, which is quite a shame because there were so many positive reviews people wrote on it, but I guess because my writing style changed I didn't want them anymore._

_Also excuse if you find any grammer mistakes. English is my second language. However I do find it nice when people correct me so feel free to do so (maybe private message me so you won't embarrass me too much haha :P) and I will do my best to improve._

_Thank you and I hope for those of you who enjoyed the story will review it._

**Prologue**

Autumn was coming to an end as the cold winter air filled the streets of Edo. Trees have already shredded their leaves and the citizens were starting on their preparation for the cold season to come.

On this street of Edo a 16-year-old boy walked. His name: Ichigo Kurosaki. He had spiky orange hair as bright as a sunflower and an angry scowl filled his face, which, believe it or not, was his usual expression even when he was confused or happy. However today Ichigo Kurosaki was neither confused nor happy. In fact what he was feeling right now, his expression expressed it quite clearly. He was annoyed. Why was Ichigo Kurosaki annoyed? That was because winter was never his favourite season. In fact he despised winter more than anything else in the world. From the icy cold river, which he nearly drowned in, or the blizzard that left him trapped inside his house for a whole week, he had no fond memory whenever this cold season came.

"Onii-chan, hurry up!" His 11-year-old sister Yuzu called out. His other sister Karin, who stood right next to Yuzu, were both well ahead of him. _Where do they get their energy?_ Ichigo wondered. Today was not his day. He just had to agree to help his sisters out for their shopping on such freezing day.

"Go without me!" Ichigo said. The cold weather was putting him in such sour mood he did not feel like running to catch up to them. His sisters grunted and moaned but they both wanted to get out of this weather as soon as possible and ran back home leaving Ichigo by himself.

It was probably the best for Ichigo to run after them. It would mean he would burn off some calorie and keep himself warm, as well as the fact he can arrive home quicker. But as much as Ichigo despised the cold weather he loved the tranquil moment of having time to himself. At home his cheerful, over-friendly dad, constantly bothered him and at work, he was always busy and on alert. So a calm moment like this on a street, with no one he knows close by was quite enjoyable in his opinion.

As he kept walking up the street, that was when he noticed, a girl gazing up towards the sky from a window of a 3 story high wooden building. Even though she was far away from the ground her presence caught Ichigo's eyes. The girl had a raven black hair that were up to her shoulders and large purple eyes, so big even from the distance Ichigo found himself getting swallowed up by them. But what caught Ichigo the most was the beautiful bright kimino she was wearing. The kimono was scarlet-red with elegant flower patterns printed on them. The bright colour complimented her dark hair colour. But what was a girl with such gorgeous kimono doing on the street of Edo?

That was when Ichigo realised; he was in the red light district of Yoshiwara. He usually avoided coming here even during daytime but today he followed behind his sisters without thinking much and they must have chosen this route to get back home. He thought the girl must be some sort of Oiran, and perhaps a respected one to even be wearing such expensive looking kimono. He found himself staring at her for a good few seconds and she did not seem to realise he was there.

It may have been due to the cold, unpleasant weather but the longer Ichigo stared; he could feel the pain coming out from her eyes. What was she looking at and what is she thinking of? The harder he thought, the more he wondered why he cared about this stranger who he knows nothing of. Perhaps it was those large, beautiful eyes of hers. They were so alluring it gave him an impression of him floating up, away from the ground and flying towards her.

Suddenly the girl moved. This startled Ichigo. She went back into her room, shutting the window behind her. This was when Ichigo realised; he must have looked like an idiot, staring at a stranger like that for a long period of time. He then noticed his cheeks were all numb from the cold. He started to head back and just as he did, the first snow of winter came falling down from the sky and landed onto his nose. This made Ichigo grunt out with annoyance. Winter came sooner than expected.

**Chapter 1**

A few weeks has past since then. Ichigo was now so busy with his job he hardly had anytime to rethink about the girl who he saw at Yoshiwara. Snow was starting to pile up onto the street and as days went by, less and less people roamed the street of Edo.

Ichigo quickly tidied his spiky orange hair and grabbed the nearest robe he can find and ran out from his house. He wished staying home was an option for him, but it was not. Lately his client Orihime Inoue's father seemed to demand more of his time to guard is precious daughter, he found himself working day and night. Orihime Inoue is a daughter of a very wealthy businessman and Ichigo was hired as her bodyguard. She is a very sweet, beautiful lady and because of that she needed someone to keep her safe from all the men coming after her.

"Good morning Kurosaki-kun" a cheery voice greeted Ichigo as soon as he arrived at a mansion. Orihime happily came running towards him. This morning her gorgeous orange locks were tied up in a loose bun at the back and she wore a light pink kimono that matched her soft facial features very well.

"Inoue, you shouldn't be out in the cold like this" Ichigo said. He then grabbed his grey scarf and hastily wrapped it around her neck. Orihime blushed at his actions but luckily her cheeks were already red from the cold winter air, her blushing was not visible.

"Oh no Kurosaki-kun! This is your scarf, you wear it!" she said

"You do realise if you catch a cold your father would blame me. No?"

Ichigo was about to usher her back into her house but Orihime suddenly stopped him.

"Umm… Kurosaki-kun, I have a favour to ask you," she said awkwardly.

This was unusual. Orihime, who was usually shy and timid, asking Ichigo a favour. Ichigo raised his eyebrows and asked what she wants.

"I want to go out to the town to do some shopping with Riruka-chan today" she said "I already asked Father and he said that he is okay with the idea as long as I have you, Abarai-kun and Ikkaku-san along with me".

Abarai and Ikkaku were her other bodyguards. Abarai usually took care of Orihime when Ichigo was taking a day off and Ikkaku usually guarded her at night. They are both Ichigo's good friends but sometimes Ichigo cannot help but argue with them as they all had similar, stubborn, arrogant personality.

"Umm… sure I guess" Ichigo said. "Has Renji and Ikkaku already agreed?"

"Yes they have. And we were waiting for you to come".

Renji and Ikkaku appeared from the entrance, both wearing layers of kimono and robes, prepared for the cold weather outside. Renji with his bright red hair, tied up very tightly at the back of his head, and Ikkaku being bold and hairless as usual, Ichigo wondered whether he will catch a cold from his head.

The town was not crowed as they usually were but in the afternoon more people started flocking the streets. It was good that it was not too crowded otherwise guarding Orihime and her friend Riruka would have been a tough job.

Riruka was one of many friends of Orihime. She had a long dark purple/red hair, tied up in a pig tail. Ichigo did not know why but whenever he tries to talk to her, Riruka would always shout at him not to bother her. Unlike Orihime's kind, friendly personality Riruka was the complete opposite and had a very tough, cold attitude. Nerveless, as long as she was Orihime's friend, much to Ichigo's dislike, he knew he had to guard her.

"Hey Ichigo, Riruka keeps glaring back at you. Did you do something to her?" Renji whispered. Even as they were speaking Riruka kept sneaking in glances towards Ichigo that spoke nothing but annoyance towards him.

"I don't know" Ichigo said "All I did was introduce myself to her when Inoue brought her over the first time. As soon as she saw me she collapsed onto the ground on her knees and after that she's been giving me weird looks"

"Collapsed?" Ikkaku laughed, "Like what, she had a seizer or something?"

"I really don't know…"

That afternoon went very well. Orihime and Riruka stopped by at few store that sold candies and then they went into a local shop to eat some dango for lunch. After that they shopped for clothes and by this time Ichigo learnt how to ignore Riruka's glare, which she continued giving throughout the whole day. Ichigo was glad Inoue was having fun. Her father usually kept her inside her huge mansion for safety reason, so Ichigo was glad to see her running around having fun. Before he realised, he broke into a smile himself seeing Orihime running from store to store like a little child.

"Ichigo, you're smiling! Don't tell me you have a thing for Inoue" Renji whispered. This startled Ichigo for a second.

"Huh? Me? No way. I mean, I do like her and I know I need to protect her but I never thought of her that way!"

Even though he meant what he said, Ichigo couldn't help but find this sort of conversation very awkward and his voice came out a little high pitched than usual. _Oh great…_ he thought to himself _That sounded convincing…._

"What! Ichigo, you have a thing for Orihime-chan!" Ikkaku teased

"Shut up!" Ichigo said. He could feel his cheeks heating up from anger and embarrassment.

Although he had to admit, Orihme must be the prettiest girl he has ever met, he did not like to mix work with personal affairs. But what if work was not a problem? Was he just being dishonest with his feelings because he is scared of his feelings? Did he like Orihime in that way and he just hasn't realised it yet? Thinking back, whenever Orihime was happy, it made Ichigo happy too. And he liked seeing that innocent, child-like smile she had. If he was not working under Orihime's father would he…

_NO!_ A voice shouted in Ichigo's mind. _Orihime can do better than a guy like you! She is destined to marry someone rich and handsome and someone from the upper class. You are merely working under her and that is all!_

As these thoughts came running around his head, Ichigo failed to notice that from a few distance away from him, Orihime was looking at him nervously.

"I wonder if Kurosaki-kun is having fun right now" Orihime asked Riruka "I mean… I don't want to bore him"

"Oh relax Orihime" Riruka said as she went through piles of kimono in the shop "To be honest I don't see why you aren't confessing to him right now. With a look and a body like yours you can get any guy you want!"

Orihime immediately blushed and now her face was as red as an apple. She started to panic and her head became dizzy

"Wha- Wha- What are you on about Riruka-chan!" she cried out "Me- me-me get Kurosaki-kun?"

"Oh relax Orihime" Riruka said. She now had a smug smile on her face "You should seriously consider confessing your feelings to him. Forget what your father will say for now! You had a crush on him for 4 years now! You should have confessed to him ages ago seducing him with that large breast of yours!"

"Whhaaa! Riruka-chan you are too loud!" Orihime cried. But she knew she was right about the confessing bit. Even since she first met Ichigo as her newly appointed bodyguard 4 years ago, she instantly developed a crush on him, and the more she got to know him, her feelings grew deeper and deeper.

"How… can I confess to him?" she shyly asked.

"Oh I don't know…" Riruka said "How about you somehow make him stay over at your house and wear some sort of sexy kimono and at middle of the night you go seduce him and push your bare breast against him and-"

"AHHHHHHHHH!"

Orihime screamed so loudly from embarrassment it startled everybody in the store. The thought of her doing something so lewd to Ichigo made her face so hot she was now panicking from embarrassment

"Are you alright Inoue?" her bodyguards, including Ichigo all came rushing towards her at once.

"Ah- ah- ah" she managed to rumble out. Ichigo was now so close to her that more lewd thoughts came running into Orihime's mind.

"Oh don't worry" Riruka said, "I just told her a scary ghost story and she got really excited. You know how Orihime likes weird things".

"What! Don't make us panic like that!" Renji said, "For a second I thought you were getting attacked by someone"

A sense of relief came to everyone and they all started laughing, everyone except Orihime and Riruka. Orihime was still bright red and dared not to look Ichigo in his eyes.

"You are so dense Riruka" Ichigo said, "You know how excited Inoue gets with ghosts stories"

"You are the dense one…" Riruka mumbled under her breath

"Sorry?" Ichigo asked

"Nothing…"

It may have been his imagination, but Ichigo saw pain in Riruka's eyes. Then he was immediately reminded of a girl she saw a few weeks back. Her eyes looked exactly the same as Riruka's did now. With a hint of sadness and anger inside it. Almost like longing for someone they love, or is suffering from an unrequited love…

_What am I thinking? _Ichigo asked himself. He realised ever since he saw the girl, weird thoughts started coming into his mind that were something he would usually not think about.

He was about to talk to Riruka, hoping to brighten her mood, but she quickly walked away from him.

That night, after Ichigo, Renji and Ikkaku safely sent both Orihime and Riruka back to their home, Ichigo and Renji decided to go out for a drink while Ikkaku stayed with Orihime to guard her. They were about to decide where to drink when suddenly, Renji made a suggestion.

"I have this really great place but… you have to keep it a secret from Ikkaku" Renji said

"Okay… but why?" Ichigo asked

"Otherwise he will mock me. But I promised that I will go see them tonight"

"Go see who tonight?"

"Just come with me".

Ichigo and Renji walked for about 10 minutes until they arrived to Renji's desired destination. I sense of surprise came into Ichigo's head. He was in Yoshiwara, a famous red light district, a place where he tried his best to avoid, and a place where he saw that girl for the very first time…

"Really? Here?" Ichigo asked. His tone was judging. He looked around and all he could see were pitiable-looking, lewd women roaming the entire street.

"It's not as bad as what people make of it okay?" Renji said in a defending tone "You need to learn to have fun once in a while Ichigo or you will live the rest of your life as a virgin"

"Vir-!"

Before Ichigo could finish his sentence Renji took off, making his way through the crowd. Ichigo hesitantly followed him. As he did he wondered if Renji already hired one of these women and slept with them. Judging from his tone, he seemed to come here quite often.

The night of Yoshiwara was certainly busier than the morning nor the afternoon. Here and there businessmen, samurais and even wealthy looking men walked around the street with a young women in their arm as they happily chatted away. The lights were bright and the whole atmosphere was vibrant. As he and Renji walked past from building to building, they had to gently shove past the girls flocking around them and asking them to come into their shop for their service. But Renji did not bother to pay any attention to them and Ichigo was busy enough keeping up with his fast pace.

"Where are you going Renji?" he asked through the noise

"Come on, we are nearly there."

"How much longer!"

"Here! It's here"

Ichigo finally caught up to him and took a moment to catch his breath. He took a deep breathe in from exhaustion and once he caught his breath he looked up at the building that stood in front of him. It was a large teahouse. A wooden building, painted red with black tiling for the roof. The building was 3 stories high and decorated with bright red lanterns. It was so huge compared to the rest of the other buildings around the area it almost looked like a mansion that belonged to a wealthy man. Perhaps it did.

Ichigo wished to admire the building more but Renji already took a step inside the teahouse and he awkwardly followed after him. He could sense how eager and excited Renji was.

The inside was just elegant as the outside. The corridor had wooden flooring that was so polished and waxed it glowed magnificently by the reflection of the lanterns that illuminated from the ceiling.

"Well well well, if it isn't Abarai-san?"

A man greeted them at the door. He almost seemed out of place inside such elaborate building. The man looked old, around his 30's perhaps. He had a dirty blonde hair that seemed unclean and stubbles that were kept uncontrolled. He was wearing a green and white striped hat, which prevented Ichigo from seeing his eyes unless the man looked up. If Ichigo were to walk past this man on a street, he would probably mistake him for a homeless.

"Hello Urahara-san" Renji said "I made a request few days ago"

"Ah yes yes, your favourite girl" Urahara said. He them smiled and called out to one of his worker "Yoruichi-san, can you bring in Shirayuk? She has customers"

A dark skinned woman nodded and glided upstairs immediatly. She was so slender and beautiful Ichigo wondered if she was an Oiran herself. With such beauty it was hard to imagine her not to be one.

They did not engage much into a conversation while they waited. Although Urahara was being friendly and talked non-stop it was Ichigo answering him back with short answers. Awkwardly, the conversation always ended quickly with Ichigo always answering Urahara with "Yeah". Urahara would then come up with a new topic but that would also end quickly. Ichigo has never been much of a talker and often relied of Renji and Ikkaku to engage in a conversation but today that was not the case. It was now clear to Ichigo, Renji was extremely nervous. He kept staring hard at the stairs, which the woman named Yoruichi used to fetch someone named Shirayuki. Ichigo still had no idea who Shirayuki was but he already guessed she must be some sort of Oiran or a Yuujo, and Renji must favour her so much, enough to be a regular visitor according to Urahara.

A few minutes have past and Yoruichi finally came back down with a girl following behind her. There were hardly any decent lighting in the corridor and Ichigo could not make out much but her graceful, scarlet-red kimono was the first thing he noticed. He also noticed, she was petite and very slim. Perhaps she only came up to Ichigo's shoulder. And the closer she came, Ichigo could pick up more of her delicate features. He noticed her dark hair that were tied up with a white ribbon and were beautifully decorated with golden ornaments. The next thing he noticed was, how fair and white her skin was as the lights from the lantern reflected onto them. It was almost like the first snow of winter. So soft, so pure and so white. Finally as she stepped right below the lantern her large violet eyes glowed in the dark like fire. It was then Ichigo finally realised, it was the same girl who he saw few weeks ago, sitting by the window.


End file.
